Liability for Parent's Debts

By
Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin LLC
|March 20, 2018

Question: How can I ensure that any debt my mother incurs, I will not be
liable for? My mother has a 25,000 credit card bill, limited income, a
mortgage (which is current) and several other credit cards which she has
defaulted on. The 25,000 credit card is current. Her credit score is in
the low 600’s if that. She refuses to consider bankruptcy. She is
72 1/2 and I want to make sure that I cannot be held liable for any of
her debt, other than the student loan I co-signed for her. Also, I gave
her a credit card to use for food and gas. The card has her name on it
but is linked to my account. I pay that bill on time but does giving her
the card imply that I am allowing her to open credit in her name using
my information?

Answer: Absent a signed writing you are not liable to pay the debts of
a parent. Gratuitously paying the bills of another does not without more
make you liable for bills that are not paid.

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